Tag: pasadena-playhouse

When you think of a musical, what comes to mind? An orchestra in pit, perhaps on-stage in the back? Singers and dancers? Elaborately choreographed numbers?

Set that all aside when you see Mexodus at the Pasadena Playhouse. Mexodus is a very non-traditional musical, at least in that respect. All of the music is created live by the two performers telling the story. And when I say created, I literally mean created. Not only do they play all the instruments, but the record and loop those instruments and background sounds live as they perform the story. They then play them back as they tell the story to provide their own generated backing tracks. It is a very unique way of presenting a musical. Additionally, not only are these two the performers, they are also the authors: all the music and lyrics and story are by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, who perform the show.

Oh, and there are no traditional song and dance numbers, but that’s less surprising with a cast of only two.

As for the show itself, well, an article in Playbill describes it best:

When the two began working on it five years ago, they were still relative strangers. Back in February 2020, Quijada and Robinson were both speakers at a conference for actors who were also musicians. The two immediately got along: they both played multiple instruments, they loved hip-hop and musical theatre, and they grew up going to church.

After the conference, the two were hanging out at Quijada’s small studio apartment “just rapping and vibing and stuff,” recalls Robinson. “But he was like, ‘Have you ever heard of the Underground Railroad that led south to Mexico? And I was like, ‘oh shit. That does make sense.’”

Quijada had seen a History.com article about the Underground Railroad to Mexico on Facebook. “I remember reading that and thinking about my parents and their story of crossing the border,” says Quijada. He jotted that factoid down in 2017 as an interesting idea for a potential piece, but didn’t touch it until 2020, after he met Robinson, because, “I’m not going to write a slave narrative alone. That’s not my story.” Quijada’s parents are from El Salvador.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as the theatre industry was shut down, Robinson and Quijada passed the time writing songs for Mexodus, bringing in their love of hip-hop and also gospel and bolero. The goal was to have enough songs to do a concert in 2021 at the development hub New York Stage and Film. Scholarship about the Underground Railroad to Mexico was scarce, but the two were able to find some compelling stories—such as the story about a slave who crossed the Rio Grande on a bale of floating cotton. Admits Robinson: “We don’t know if it’s a folk tale that happened for real, for real. But just the idea that the thing that enslaves you can be the thing that sets you free—that is the bigger metaphor.”

So Mexodus  tells the story of Henry, a slave from Victoria TX, and Carlos, a former Mexican army medic turned ranchworker across the border in Mexico (probably in the Neuvo Leon province). After having killed his master when his masters wife made sexual overtures to him (and the master caught them), Henry escapes across the Rio Grande floating on a bale of cotton. Carlos rescues him. The story the develops shows how the two became friends, and they provided protection for each other.

But more than this surface story, there are some key underlying messages. It starts at the very beginning, when Quijada tells a story about his youth in Chicago when they had to stop to get gas in a Black neighborhood. His parents were scared for their safety, simply because the people around them were different. He emphasizes how this shows that the attitudes America held during slavery: fear about people who were different, and only feeling comfortable around “your own” were still present today. He implies that a lot of this fear is what is driving what we are seeing today: People that are only comfortable with their own, and the immense fear many people have over those who are black and brown. They don’t see them as people; they see them only as the archetypes to be feared.

My wife said it well: She came into see a play, and came out having learned history. According to the History.com article that likely inspired the story, “Researchers estimate 5,000 to 10,000 people escaped from bondage into Mexico”. Mexico abolished slavery in 1829 when Texas was still part of the country, in part prompting white, slave-holding immigrants to fight for independence in the Texas Revolution. Once they formed the Republic of Texas in 1836, they made slavery legal again, and it continued to be legal when Texas joined the U.S. as a state in 1845. Mexico refused to sign a treaty equivalent to the Fugitive Slave Act, insisting that all enslaved people were free when they set foot on Mexican soil. Despite this, some U.S. owners of enslaved people still hired slave catchers to illegally kidnap escapees in Mexico. This is also a plot beat in the story.

Robinson makes it appear that his family history includes escaped slaves that went to Mexico. Whether this is true is hard to know, but he does make it believable. As such, this is a layer above histories such as Hamilton: This appears to be the real story of the performers telling the story.

The music is complex, and is not your traditional Musical style. It is hip-hop, and Tejano, and gospel, and so much more. It is also complex and developed. Again, quoting from the Playbill article:

The two act while singing and playing every musical instrument in the show. There’s no backing orchestra here—it’s just these two performers, some guitars, a bass, a piano, a trumpet, and drums. Oh, and the most important instrument of all: a looping station, which allows them to record a musical phrase and then play it back in repeat, so they can then layer multiple instruments on top of each other. This means that Quijada and Robinson are creating the arrangement for each song live on the spot every night. […] The musical complexity of Mexodus means that it doesn’t always go smoothly, notes Robinson. “It’s so complicated and the margin for error is so thin, like, if we hit [a button] a millisecond too late, we could derail three songs. I wish I was being hyperbolic. There have been some things that have messed up on our part, even in this run—like running up the steps and accidentally hitting the button and not meaning to. It’s like, ‘Why did that not record?’” They asked me if I noticed a mistake that occurred on the night I went to the show. I can honestly say that no, I couldn’t tell, because I was so swept away by the music I was hearing.

I can attest to that. At our performance, Quijada was having trouble with the peg at the bottom of his guitar that holds the strap. He kept fiddling it, while still trying to keep the music going and having the loop and record. He did, and he even joked live about it during the show. Both Quijada and Robinson give shoutouts to the technical and sound crew assisting them with the looping. They deserved it.

That’s yet another reason to see this musical. Often, when I see musicals, I assess their ability to move to the regional or school stage. Mexodus is technically complicated and requires sophisticated technology, and multi-talented musicians to pull it of. This is not a show likely to be seen on the regional or school stage. Pasadena Playhouse was able to remount this by bringing in the original Off-Broadway cast, including the original looping system architect. I’ll note that if you are interested in this production, it has been recorded and is available on Audible. I’m not sure I like that trend: I prefer traditional cast albums. Perhaps one day they will release just the songs as a cast album; for now, just one song has been released.

The show is short: Just 90 minutes with no intermission. It is well worth seeing, especially if you would like to learn some history you probably never knew. Oh, and the music is great as well.

Credits

Mexodus. Written and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. Directed by David Medizábal. Choreographed by Tony Thomas.

Cast: Brian Quijada Carlos; Nygel D. Robinson Henry. Understudies: Trent Lawson Henry; Alan Mendez Carlos.

Production and Creative: Brian Quijada Co-Creator; Nygel D. Robinson Co-Creator. David Medizábal Director, Costume Designer;  Tony Thomas Choreographer; Alan Mendez u/s Carlos, Music Director; Riw Rakkulchon Scenic Designer; Mextly Couzin Lighting Designer; Mikhail Fiksel Looping System Architecture & Sound Designer; Johnny Moreno Video/Projection Design; Hope Villaueva Production Stage Manager; Fior Tat Asst Stage Manager; Mike Deyo Assoc Sound Designer; Hide Nakajo Asst Sound Designer; Matt Perosa Deck Chief; Jordan Del Pino, Joe Court Audio Engineer A1; Akari Izumi Audio Engineer A2.

Key Producers: P3 Productions, Audible. Originally produced by Baltimore Center Stage. West Coast Premiere produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania. If you are looking for discount tickets, TodayTix (unlike their predecessor Goldstar Events) doesn’t handle the small theatres in LA. Luckily, Theatre Source LA has a new initiative: StageRushLA for discount tickets.

Upcoming

Key: 🎭 Theatre / 🎼 Music /  Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (🎫 indicates ticketing is pending).

• July: 🎭 The Wizard of Oz at 5-Star Theatricals; 🎭 If/Then at Chromolume Theatre.
• August: 🎭 Beauty and the Beast at BIH/Pantages;
• September: 🎭 Water for Elephants at BIH/Pantages; 🎭🎫 The Visit at Pasadena Playhouse; 🎼 Sutton Foster at The Soraya; 🎭🎫 Catch Me If You Can at The Colony Theatre; 🎭🎫Every Brilliant Thing at The Main; 
• October: 🎭 The Outsiders at BIH/Pantages; 🎼 Branford Marsalis & Dianne Reeves Celebrate John Coltrane at The Soraya; 🎭 Les Miserables at 5-Star Theatricals; 🎼 Gershwin and the Golden Age (feat. Michael Feinstein) at The Soraya; 🎭 The Who’s Tommy at BIH/Pantages.

This has been the spring for classic musicals in Los Angeles. First, we had the wonderful revisical version of Flower Drum Song from East West Players, which premiered on Broadway in 1958 (and whose source book author, CY Lee, is actually remembered on the walls of the Pasadena Playhouse). Then we had the excellent touring production of The Sound Of Music, which was brought to the heights by the performances of its leads, Cayleigh Capaldi as Maria and Kevin Earley as Captain Von Trapp. The Sound of Music premiered on Broadway in 1959. The trio concluded this week with the lightly revised revival of Brigadoon at the Pasadena Playhouse, which we saw last night. Brigadoon premiered on Broadway way back in 1947. I had forgotten what a joy Brigadoon is; I truly believe the Pasadena Playhouse version is worthy of a Broadway transfer. Brigadoon hasn’t been on Broadway since 1980, and this updated version brings and updated energy and sensibility to the show, combined with the luscious score. In this era of continuous revivals of seemingly the same recent shows, this could be a breath of fresh Scottish air.

In seeing this show, I was trying to remember the last time I saw Brigadoon. I thought it might have been at the old LA Civic Light Opera, but they last did the show in 1954 (which was before I was born). Perhaps it was in the Cabrillo Music Theatre days (now 5-Star), but then I would have a program. Perhaps I only thought I had seen it, and was conflating it with the movie version with Gene Kelly and Van Johnson, which I’ve seen many times. That’s a distinct possibility, as I didn’t remember some of the songs (and those are the songs that were cut in the movie). But it turns out I have seen Brigadoon before on the stage: a December 1981 production of the Al Malaikah Shrine at the Shrine Theatre, with Genevieve Marie Sordetto as Fiona and Brad M. Arrington as Tommy Albright.  I must have gone with my parents (who were avid theatregoers), as I was still a college undergrad at the time, and my dad was a member of that Shrine club. I also, surprisingly, only had one version of Brigadoon in my music library: the 1991 Studio Cast. A good version, but one is not enough. That was remedied this morning (I added the 2017 NY City Center revival).

The reason for the above reminiscing is to demonstrate that, like many I’m sure, I knew of Brigadoon, but I didn’t remember it well. I think we all remember the outlines of the story: Two NYC hunters (Tommy and Jeff) on vacation in Scotland discover an enchanted village that reappears for one day every one hundred years. One of the hunters falls in love with a local lass (Fiona). There’s a wedding, and the suitor that wasn’t selected (Harry) attempts to leave the village, which would destroy it. He is stopped and dies in the process. The hunter in love wants to stay with the village, but his friend convinces him to leave. Back in NYC, he’s unhappy, so he returns to Scotland and loves the girl so much that the village reappears and takes him in. Along the way, there’s lot of dancing and singing, including the standard “Almost Like Being In Love”.

Those are the main story notes. But (unsurprisingly, as the original was written in the late 1940s), the original story had dated elements. It reflected an American stereotypical view of Scotland. It showed Scottish women with no agency (a very 1940s view), which was not the reality. The presentation of the two American friends was dated. The show wasn’t as problematic as Flower Drum Song, but it needed updating. If you’re not familiar with the original details of the show, Wikipedia has a good summary of the plot. If you’re only familiar with the movie, you can see the movie excised even more story, notably the sub-story of Meg Brockie. They also changed how Jeff killed Harry Beaton. The movie was clearly not the basis for a good revival: the movie was more a piece to show off its stars, Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse.

For the Pasadena Playhouse version, Alexandra Silber adapted and updated the story. Here are the changes I could detect. She changed Meg Brockie from a simple milkmaid to an independent woman who operated a pub (which became the center for much of the action in the story). She might have been a widow, which would explain the ownership. They also made Meg much more sexually forward and lusty than would have been acceptable in the 1940s or 1950s. She changed the town leader, Mr. Lundie, into the Widow Lundie. This might have been done to fit the casting of Tyne Daly, but it also fits with the power of Widows in Scottish society. She changed the manner of death of Harry. In the 1940s original, as Wikipedia notes “Jeff also reveals that he tripped Harry and accidentally killed him.”. In the movie, again according to Wikipedia, “With men closing in on him, Harry climbs up a tree to hide but is accidentally gunned down by Jeff, who skipped the wedding to go hunting. Harry falls dead to the ground and is soon found by the men.” In this version, however, Jeff is not responsible for Harry’s death. As Harry nears the edge of town, they lock eyes. Harry seems to decide he can’t cause the town’s destruction, and so throws himself off the bridge instead.

There are also significant changes made in the penultimate scenes. In the original, according to Wikipedia, “Four months later, Jeff is drinking heavily at a hotel bar in New York. Tommy, who has been living on a farm in New Hampshire, enters and greets Jeff, but is still in love with Fiona and cannot stop thinking about her. His fiancée Jane Ashton, a beautiful socialite, talks to him about their impending wedding, but everything she says causes him to hear Fiona’s voice and dream of Brigadoon (“Come to Me, Bend to Me” (reprise) and “Heather on the Hill” (reprise)). Tommy tells Jane that he cannot marry her, and she argues with him, but he continues to daydream about his true love (“Go Home With Bonnie Jean” (reprise) and “From This Day On” (reprise)). Jane leaves, and Tommy tells Jeff that he wants to return to Scotland, although he knows the village will not be there.”

In this updated version, Silber turns it around: Tommy is so much in love he can’t get over it and has turned to drinking. Recent promotions mean nothing to him, and there is no fiancée. Everything the barkeep says (played by the same actor that played Widow Lundie) makes him think of Fiona and Brigadoon. Jeff, now sober, returns and convinces Tommy he was wrong. There can be such a love, and he had it with his wife who died (presumably of cancer). It is Jeff who tells Tommy he must go back to Scotland, and provides him with the tickets.

I found that the updated story worked well, and fit the beats I remembered. The revisions were suitably gentle and nudged the story into something that worked better for modern audiences. There are still some aspects that feel dated—in particular, the heavier emphasis on dance and ballet that one doesn’t see in modern shows—but they are tolerable. It is quite possible that the Agnes DeMille dances are contractually required (similar to the dream sequences in Oklahoma or The King and I).

The performances were top-notch. In the leading positions were Betsy Morgan as Fiona Mac Laren, Max Von Essen as Tommy Albright, and Happy Anderson as Jeff Douglas. Morgan brought a wonderful life and vivaciousness to Fiona; one could easily see why Tommy fell in love with her. She also had a spectacular singing voice. Von Essen was a great leading man, with a relatable stage presence, a great singing voice, and most notably, spectacular chemistry with Morgan. Anderson transformed Jeff from a handsome friends to a more lovable doofus. Anderson provided some wonderful comic relief through the show.

As the couple getting married, Kylie Victoria Edwards (Jean Mac Laren) and Daniel Yearwood (Charlie Dalrymple) were great. I particularly enjoyed Yearwood: he had a wonderful voice and was fun to watch on stage.

The simple milkmaid, Meg Brockie, was transformed in this version to a tavern owner, vivacious and fully of life and happiness. She was played by Donna Vivino with a strength of voice and personality that was great. Although it wasn’t listed in her credits, I could swear that Vivino is a local. I think I’ve seen her (and her daughters) playing multiple roles out at Cabrillo/5-Star.

The matriarch of the town, Widow Lundie, was played by Tyne Daly. This was a coup getting her for this role, as she brought a wonderful gravitas to the character. Alas, you could see by how she was moving on stage that she is getting frailer than she once was. Still, she is a theatrical powerhouse and it is always a delight to see her on stage. I particularly liked her turn as Frankie, the barkeep.

Also notable was Jessica Lee Keller as Maggie Anderson. She was hidden during much of the production, but had a spectacular dance turn during the funeral scene.

Lastly, I’d like to call out the ensemble and cast members who were playing instruments on stage. They aren’t explicitly identified in the program, unless they had some of the musicians don costumes and come on stage. So to the unspecified fiddle, bodhran, bass, piccolo, and bagpipe players: your presence in the tavern scenes added a wonderful authenticity to those scenes, and brought back memories of shows such as Once or Come From Away, both of which have elements like that.

I am delighted to note that the scenic aspects of the show were achieved without the use of a single glitter cannon or a single projection. There was wonderful traditional scenery: bridges, taverns, villages; the Pasadena Playhouse provides sufficient fly space that they were able to use a lot of “fly in” scenery. Costumes were suitably Scottish; Jeff and Tommy had their costumes updated to modern times (including modern backpacks and water bottles, and I think I even spotted a cell phone).

Were there any negatives? Perhaps one minor one: There were four stage lights at the top of the proscenium that were very bluish-white (distractingly so). They were fine when they were tuned to other colors, so they just need to be toned down a bit.

Other than the horrid (to us) Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha earlier this year, the Pasadena Playhouse has been hitting it out of the park this season. Their next season looks to be equally strong. We’ve already renewed our membership, and we look forward to scheduling our shows for the next season. This production of Brigadoon is yet another example of the quality work from the Playhouse. Folks should get over to the Playhouse to see it and be reminded how the classic musicals still hold up. It runs until June 14, 2026. Tickets are available through the Playhouse Website.

Credits

Lerner & Loewe’s Brigadoon. A new adaptation by Alexandra Silber, inspired by the original book by Alan Jay Lerner. Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Music by Frederick Loewe. Original dances created by Agnes DeMille. Directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman.

Cast (^æ indicates members of Actors Equity): Happy Anderson^æ Jeff Douglas; Brian Calì^æ Ensemble / Angus; Amanda Clement^æ Ensemble, Dance Captain; Tyne Daly^æ Widow Lundie; Sophie Liu David^æ Ensemble; Kylie Victoria Edwards^æ Jean MacLaren; Michael Scott Harris^æ Archie Beaton; Jessica Lee Kellar^æ Maggie Anderson; Evan Kinnane^æ Ensemble; Julia Wheeler Lennon^æ Ensemble; Brian Kim McCormick^æ Ensemble / Stuart; Spencer Davis Milford^æ Harry Beaton; Betsy Morgan^æ Fiona MacLaren; Gabriel Navarro^æ Ensemble; Chuck Saculla^æ Ensemble / Sandy Dean; Amy Smith^æ Ensemble; Gil Sweeney Ensemble / Swing; Donna Vivino^æ Meg Brockie; Max Von Essen^æ Tommy Albright; Daniel Yearwood^æ Charlie Dalrymple; Geoffrey Wade^æ Andrew MacLaren.

Music Department: Darryl Archibald Music Supervisor; Brad Gardner Music Director / Conductor; Gennie Cheng Assoc Music Director / Piano; Bethany Mennemeyer Concertmaster, Rhea Fowler, Nichole Garcia, and Nolan Livesay Violin; Rodney Wirtz and Bryan Gonzalez Viola; Ginger Murphy and Chris Ahn Cello; David Hughes Bass; Rachel Mellis Flute, Piccolo; Victoria Sabonjohn Oboe; Laura Stoutenborough and Adrienne Murray Clarinet; Lieza Kallin Bassoon; Jared Haworth and Elizabeth Donahue Bagpipes; Lisa McCormick French Horn; Tim Rubottom, Barbara Laronga, and Justin Drisdelle Trumpet; Devon Taylor Trombone; Nick Stone Percussion; Eric Heinly Orchestra Contractor.

Production and Creative (^æ indicates members of Actors Equity): Alan Jay Lerner Lyrics, Book; Frederick Loewe Music; Alexandra Silber Playwright; Katie Spelman Director, Choreographer; Jason Sherwood Scenic Designer; Raquel Adorno Costume Designer; Jaymi Smith Lighting Designer; Danny Erdberg Sound Designer; Ursula Kwong-Brown Sound Designer; Alberto “Albee” Alvarado Wig, Hair, and Makeup Design; Ryan Bernard-Tymensky Casting; Jill Gold^æ Production Stage Manager; Lauren Buangan^æ Asst Stage Manager; Miriam Mendoza^æ Asst Stage Manager; Gaby Ostrove^æ Asst Stage Manager.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; BIH/Pantages; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

There were some interesting theatre and theatre-related announcements recently. First, the Pasadena Playhouse announced their 2026-2027 season. It’s pretty spectacular. The season begins with a new production of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s tragicomedy The Visit, directed by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak and starring Jefferson Mays. The Visit was later turned into a musical by Fred Kander and John Ebb; but this is the play version. Next up is the long-awaited L.A. premiere of Passing Strange, the Tony-winning musical based on the life of L.A.-born musician Stew, directed by Tony nominee Zhailon Levingston. Passing Strange never toured after winning the 2009 Tony, so this is its LA debut. There is then a TBA winter production (hopefully better than last year’s Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, which was horrible). That is followed by Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, the musical version of the play we saw two weeks ago. This was on Broadway but did poorly and thus never toured; it is its LA premiere. Lastly, a revival of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with Alfred Molina. We’ve already renewed our membership.

Also announcing last week was the Soraya, previously known as the Valley Performing Arts Center on the campus of Cal State Northridge. Can’t you just hear Vin Sculley saying “Isn’t it beautiful”. They have announced their 2026-2027 season. There is loads of good stuff this season. Notable for theatre folks is the opening show, Sutton Foster; in April, Audra McDonald will grace the stage. Along the way, there are shows such as Snarky Puppy with the CSUN “A” Jazz Band, Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves celebrating John Coltraine; a tribute to Gershwin and the Golden Age with the LA Jewish Symphony; the Dance Theatre of Harlem; Terence Blanchard and Ravi Coltraine; A tribute to Frank Sinatra with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra; the Emmet Cohen Trio; and much more. Music of all varieties, jazz, dance, pop, classical, and loads more. Those are just the shows we’re interested in. Memberships are also on sale.

Lastly, May saw the opening of ticket sales for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. There are over 2,150 performances; there are 439 shows listed in the show catalog. These all occur during the month of June, with multiple shows throughout the day. 20 minutes to move in; then the show; 20 minutes to move out. Ticket prices are low. The shows run the gamut, from totally strange to one person shows to full on short plays to musical reviews. You’re sure to find something you’ll like.

Upcoming

Key: ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• May: ♣ Bugs Bunny at the Symphony at St. Louis Symphony; ♦ Fat Ham at Black Reperatory Theatre (St. Louis); ♦ Hells Kitchen at BIH/Pantages.
• June: ♦ Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Ebony Rep; ♦ Elegies at Chromolume; ♦ Primary Trust at CTG/Taper; ♦ Mamma Mia at CTG/Ahmanson.
• July: ♦ Mexodus at Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ The Wizard of Oz at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ If/Then at Chromolume Theatre.
• August: ♦ Beauty and the Beast at BIH/Pantages;
• September: ♦ Water for Elephants at BIH/Pantages; ♦⊕ The Visit at Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ The Turning at Taper/CTG; ♣⊕ Sutton Foster at The Soraya; ♦⊕ Catch Me If You Can at The Colony Theatre; ♦⊕Every Brilliant Thing at The Main

Wolfgang and Antonio, it’s been a while.

I think we last saw Amadeus in the excellent Rep East production back in 2010, with Daniel Lench in the lead role as Salieri. Well, alas for Daniel, Jefferson Mays has topped him in the outstanding production of Amadeus we saw last night at the Pasadena Playhouse. They more than made up for the disappointing previous production Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha back in October.

Amadeus is a well known play by Peter Shaffer. Back in 2010, I summarized the play as follows:

“Amadeus” (you may have seen the motion picture) tells the story of the rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart… or should I say imagined rivalry, for Mozart didn’t see Salieri as a rival, whereas Salieri saw Mozart as a rival in God’s eyes. The story is told in flashback, from Salieri’s point of view, as Salieri is dying. He is attempting to confess to killing Mozart by relating the story of how he did the deed. He begins by telling how he dedicated his life to praising God through music, but when he saw Mozart’s music, realized that God had forsaken him and chosen Mozart to be his voice. Further, Salieri saw that Mozart was a base and callow fellow, a pottymouthed, childish prodigy, further cementing the notion that the gift must be from God. At the moment of that realization, Salieri vows to make God abandon his chosen voice. Much of the play is Salieri relating how he believes his actions created the situations that drove Mozart deeper into poverty, dispair, and eventual destitution. At the end, Mozart is dead in his 30s, but Salieri lives on another 25 years being elevated in fame, only to know that everlasting fame and retribution will be Mozart’s, for it will be Mozart’s music that survives. Salieri eventually commits suicide so that his name will at least live in infamy, but fails in that as well.

Given how well known the play is, there are two things that distinguish one production of Amadeus from another: the performances and the production. The production we saw back in 2010 was an exemplar of creativity on limited budget: a small production in an 81 seat black box, with outstanding performances by mostly local performers that were part of the regular Rep East ensemble team. I still remember the harpsicord/piano they built for that production, which remained in the Rep East lobby for years after, until the company folded a few years later. I have no idea what the replacement theatre, The Main, did with it.

The Pasadena Playhouse, on the other hand, is more at the other end of the spectrum. They have a larger donor base, and there was significant additional philanthropic support for this production. They were also able to draw from a different actor pool: unlike the intimate theatre scene in Los Angeles, the PP is able to draw from (and pay for) Equity actors (although I should note that the Rep production did have three Equity actors, including Lench in the lead role). It shows.

The Los Angeles Times has a great article on the production aspects of this show. The article notes the design aspects of the stage created by the Pasadena Playhouse’s on-site scenic design shop. This includes “the forced perspective of scenic designer Alexander Dodge’s set, which makes a royal room seem to disappear into the distance” and “An electric keyboard programmed to sound like a fortepiano is also embedded in a handcrafted instrument, which actors with musical training can play.” The costumes are quite extravagant, and the LA Times noted “Linda Cho designed the costumes and L.A. Opera fabricated the extravagant 18th century garments”. L.A. Opera also provided additional training for the performances of the opera snippets within the production. And yet, this production is an example of what can be done with traditional stagecraft: there are no electronic tricks; there is no projected scenery (although there are some projected tapestries). Construction is flats and trapdoors and hidden stairs. It shows the power of theatre, without the mechanical and electrical supports that productions these days seem to rely upon far too heavily.

But I think what really made this production of Amadeus stand out was the work of Jefferson Mays as Salieri. He just drew you into the performance, capturing well the inner obsession had had all of his life: with his music, with being known, with wanting to be the voice of God… and how that obsession turned from the creation of art to revenge when faced with the upstart and contradiction that was Mozart. For Mozart had the talent; he was a child prodigy that was composing from his youngest days. Music just poured from him. But he also remained childish, with few people skills, a potty mouth, and (according to the play) a childish obsession with sex and bums (asses). Sam Clemmett captured that contradictory nature well, and it played well with the growing infuriation showed by Mays’ Salieri at how God bypassed and mocked him in the talent department. The two performances played well off of each other.

There were a few other notable performances. Jennifer Chang and Hilary Ward were outstanding as the Venticellis (the aides to Salieri), with great facial impressions. Lauren Worsham was fun as Constanze Mozart, especially in her scenes with Salieri. Matthew Patrick Davis was a hoot as Joseph II, especially as the very tall Davis had to fit through the very small forced perspective doors at the back of the stage. Lastly, note that the Playhouse cast some real opera talent as the performers in the Mozart opera snippits: Michelle Allie Drever and Alaysha Fox have been in quite a few operas.

Note that it looks like the Playhouse (now that it owns the building) has finally giving up on its restaurant space ever being a stand-alone success, and has turned it into a bar and lounge, and perhaps a small concert performance space. This is a wonderful idea and a great use of the space. However, the concessions are far too expensive: $9 for a box of cookies or $12 for a chocolate chip cookie is poor form, when one can just walk across the street to The Stand and get cookies for $3.50 or a large brownie for $4.50.  A dollar or two markup to support the theatre is tolerable; doubling the price (especially for something that is pre-packaged) isn’t.

Amadeus has had its run extended: It now continues until March 15. You can get tickets through the Pasadena Playhouse website. You might be able to get discount tickets from the Today Tix website, but Today Tix really is not as good as their predecessor, Goldstar Events.

Credits

Amadeus. Written by Peter Shaffer. Directed by Darko Tresnjak.

Cast: Kanajuan Bentley Van Swieten; Jared Andrew Bybee Valet / Major-Domo; Jennifer Chang Venticelli; Sam Clemmett Mozart; Matthew Patrick Davis Joseph II; Michelle Allie Drever Katherina Cavalieri / Soprano; Alaysha Fox Teresa Salieri / Soprano; Matthew Henerson Count Johann Kilian Von Strack; John Lavelle Orsini-Rosenberg; Jefferson Mays Salieri; Brent Schindele Cook / Kappelmeister / Harpsichordist; Hilary Ward Venticelli; Lauren Worsham Constanze.

Production and Creatives: Peter Shaffer Playwright; Darko Tresnjak Director; Alexander Dodge Scenic Designer; Linda Cho Costume Designer; Pablo Santiago Lighting Designer; Jane Shaw Sound Designer; Aaron Rhyne Projection Designer; Will Vicari Hair / Wig / Makeup Designer; Jeff Bernstein Music Director; Jennifer Ringo Vocal Coach; Sasha Nicolle Smith Intimacy Consultant; Miranda Johnson-Haddad Dramaturg; David S. Franklin Production Stage Manager; Alyssa Escalante Asst Stage Manager; Ryan Bernard-Tymensky Casting.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre ^NEW, and 5-Star Theatricals. We just added Chromolume Theatre as our intimate theatre subscription — we subscribed there pre-pandemic when they were at their West Adams location, but they died back in 2018. They started back up last year (but we had seen all their shows); this year, their season is particularly interesting: The Color Purple, If/Then, Elegies (during Hollywood Fringe), and Roadshow (nee Bounce) [by Steven Sondheim]. Mind you, these are all in the intimate theatre setting, and this will be the first time Roadshow has been done in Los Angeles, to my knowledge. Information on purchasing their 2026 season is here. Our previous intimate theatre, Actors Co-Op, seems to be on hiatus.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming

♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• February: ♣ Mandy Gonzalez in Concert: Broadway and Beyond at Broad Stage.
• March: ♣ Noel Paul Stookey at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts;  MoTAS Brotherhood Seder at Temple Beth Hillel; ♦ The Color Purple at Chromolume; ♦ The Play That Goes Wrong at 5-Star Theatricals;  ♦ Here Lies Love at CTG/Mark Taper;  MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Hillel;  MoTAS Poker Tournament; ♦ Spamlot at BIH/Pantages.
• April: ♦ Kim’s Convenience Store at CTG/Ahmanson; ♦ Ride the Cyclone at The Main; ♣ Jeremy Jordan at The Soraya;  California Science and Engineering Fair at CLU; ♦ Flower Drum Song at East/West Players; ♦ Real Women Have Curves at Casa 0101
• May: ♦ Anyone Can Whistle at El Portal Theatre; ♦ The Sound of Music at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Brigadoon at The Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ Hells Kitchen at BIH/Pantages.

This show is titled “Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha”, implying it is a funny, funny, show. It isn’t. It is bizarre; it is an attempt at avant-guard improvisational humor, often at the expense of others. Some people in the audience were laughing, so some might find it funny. But if you are a traditional theatre audience member, the only thing you are thankful for in this production is that it is over in barely over an hour.  A long hour.

If anything, this show reminds me of another Pasadena Playhouse one-woman show failure from early 2024: “Kate”, starring Kate Berlant. That show was also bizarre narcissistic comedy that you either loved or hated, and we hated. The Playhouse is two-for-two on one women comedy shows. Improv can be funny — look at “Freestyle Love Supreme“, which was funny. But people go to the Pasadena Playhouse for plays and musicals, not this … stuff … which has no story, no characters, no … substance.

If you want to get some other ideas of the show, read the McNulty review in the LA Times, or the Broadway World writeup. Both reviewers seemed to be at the same show. They someone enjoyed it, for reasons I don’t understand.

Additionally, the music and volume is far far too loud; my wife got a headache from the volume.

Let me describe the show we were at. Masli wanders out with a headpiece with lights on it going “Ha” in a strange pronunciation, going up to audience members until they start trying to repeat what she is saying because they can’t figure out anything else to do. She wanders on stage and gets a golden leg, which she uses as an arm with a microphone. She then wanders out into the audience going “Problem?” until people respond. At some point, she breaks a chair on stage, and she uses a subsequent problem to get someone to go on stage to try to fix it. Similarly, at some point she gets someone to go on stage to take a shower in front of the audience. She collects socks from audience members, and burns one of them. These seem to be stock bits (at least they were in the other reviews), although the problems that lead to them. At our show, she had a pizza and salad dropped from above.

Let’s see if I can remember the problems. There was someone who didn’t like the direction the world was going in. That led to her getting audience members to go on stage to rebuild the broken chair to repair something, and finding a white guy to take a shower to wash off the guilt. There was a guy who missed the crisp air and crunchy leaves of New York, so she dragged out a stage fan and had him sit in the breeze, while she threw lettuce at him. There was someone who had foot problems, so she dragged out a Chinese Acupuncture doctor to sit on stage to solve people’s medical problems. There was a fellow who needed commercial directing gigs. She couldn’t solve that one (why she didn’t suggest making a commercial for her show was beyond me).

I just didn’t find it funny. I found it exploitive, and I don’t think it was what the people who paid good money for a “show” were expecting. I know I’d be pissed if I paid LA Theatre prices for a show where I became the butt of a joke.

It just seems that there was no script. Each show was dependent on the “problems” that came from the audience.

If you like bizarre comedy, perhaps you’ll like this. If you’re looking for traditional theatre, stay away. If you’re wondering why we went: This was part of the Pasadena Playhouse season, the TBD show that was added at the last minute when something slipped on the schedule. We didn’t specifically buy tickets for this.

Are we upset about the show? Again, no. When you subscribe to a theatre, there are occasionally shows that just don’t land right. You take that risk to be exposed to new theatre. This one just wasn’t for us, but the Playhouse’s track record is overall quite good.

Why did the Playhouse do this? All I can guess is that some folks provided sufficient monetary support to put on the show, because they liked it at a Fringe Festival, and the Playhouse said “Thank you. That fills a hole in our production schedule nicely.”

“Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha” continues at the Pasadena Playhouse through November 9. You can get tickets through the show page. Perhaps you’ll enjoy it. We didn’t. But at least it wasn’t “Girl from the North Country” bad. It was more like “Kate” bad.

Credits

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Created and performed by Julia Masli. Directed by Kim Nobel

Cast: Julia Masli Creator and Performer

Production and Creative: Kim Noble Director; Lily Woodford Lighting Design; Alessio Festuccia Sound Design; David Curtis-Ring, Annika Thiems, Alice Wedge Costume Design; Sarah Chapin Associate Producer, Production Manager, Stage Manager, Improvised Lighting Score; Sebastian Hernandez Improvised Sound Score; Maria Manuela Goyanes, David C. Frederick, Sophia Lynn Consulting Producers, Brad Enlow Technical Director, Production Supervisor; Davidson & Choy Publicity Press Representatives; Bonnie McHeffey General Manager; Jenny Slattery Assoc Artistic Director.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• November: ♦ Jaja’s African Hair Braiding at CTG/Taper; ♦ Paranormal Activity at CTG/Ahmanson; ♦ Suffs at BIH/Pantages;
• December: ◊ ACSAC Conference; ♣ Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson at CTG/Ahmanson; ♣ Nochebuena: A Christmas Spectacular at The Soraya; ♦ Stereophonic at BIH/Pantages;
• January: ♦ The Notebook at BIH/Pantages; ♦ All the Devils Are Here at The Broad;
• February: ♦⊕ Applause at MTG (Pending); ♦ Amadeus at Pasadena Playhouse; ♣ Anat Cohen at the Soraya; ♣ Preservation Hall Jazz Band at The Soraya.

If you’ve been reading the news the last week, you know childhood vaccines—and the childhood vaccine schedule—is back in the news.  RFK Jr.’s new panel has pushed back the age for the MMRV (MMR + Chickenpox); they punted the vote on the Hep B vaccine for newborns, and they added medical consultation (but did not require an ℞). I mention this all because it demonstrates the timeliness of the play that we saw last night at the Pasadena Playhouse: “Eureka Day”, which is about a war in a day school over vaccines.

The setting: Berkeley California, in 2018-2019. Both the setting and the year are important. The setting is important because of the nature of Berkeley, home of the campus of UC Berkeley, and an extremely progressive city. The year is important because, well, it is just before COVID-19 enters the conversation.

The action takes place in a private day school, and focuses on the Executive Board of the school, which operates by consensus. We see this established in the opening scene, where they are debating the order and selection of options for the entrance application regarding racial characteristics. They want to be respectful and do not want to offend anyone.  If one was Conservative, you would think this is a parody of the “woke” school boards of Berkeley; if you’ve known folks from Berkeley, you know this is just how Berkeley folks are.

Then a child in the school gets sick. Then two. Then more. Mumps. For those unfamiliar with the disease, it is very contagious, and can result in loss of hearing, sterility, and even death. Serious stuff. A letter is about to go out to all parents from the Berkeley Public Health department, advising them the school is quarantined and temporarily closed, and that students should not return unless they have already had and recovered from mumps, or have had the MMR vaccine. Naturally, the “crunchy” board calls an emergency meeting to address the letter. As you might expect from Berkeley, there are those that support science, those that support “natural” cures and body purity (i.e., anti-vax), and those undecided. The board doesn’t get anywhere, and so they decide to call a community meeting (which is a live-stream because of the quarantine).

This is where things go hilariously off the rails. The “background” chat during that meeting is one of the funniest things I have seen. From there, battle lines are drawn between the board members who are strongly anti-vax, and the board members that are strongly in favor of requiring vaccines before the school can reopen. But, remember, in order to change policies, a consensus is required. I’m not going to spoil it from this point, but suffice it to say that this is one of the funniest shows we’ve seen in a while—but funny in a very different way from the recent “Shucked”. This isn’t flat out jokes: it is situational and personal dynamic humor. I also think it is something that folks on either side of the vaccine question will find funny. Overall, I think the show reaches the correct endpoint, but for a while I wasn’t sure and the path was bumpy along the way.

Performances were outstanding, especially Camille Chen as Meiko (and my wife did confirm she was actually knitting and making progress on her scarf, although clearly a novice); Rick Holmes as Dond, Cherise Boothe as Carina, and Mia Barron as Suzanne. In particular, watch Boothe’s facial expressions as Carina throughout the show.

“Eureka Day” won a Tony this year for Best Revival of a Play, and it was reported last week that “Eureka Day” was the third most produced play of the 25-26 theatre season. Charles McNulty, in his LA Times review, notes: “The play, which is having its Los Angeles premiere at Pasadena Playhouse, seems like it could have been commissioned to skewer this destructive, benighted and completely mortifying anti-science moment. But Spector wrote the work before the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed our political demons and made stupid great again.” I don’t fully agree with McNulty’s characterization of the performance (but I often disagree with him), but I did like that paragraph.

In short: This play is timely. This play is funny. And the ending is perfect. Go see it.

“Eureka Day” continues at the Pasadena Playhouse through October 5. You can get tickets through the Playhouse Website.

Credits

Eureka Day. Written by Jonathan Spector. Directed by Teddy Bergman.

Cast: Mia Barron Suzanne; Cherise Boothe Carina; Camille Chen Meiko; Nate Corddry Eli; Rick Holmes Don; Kailyn Leilani Winter.

Production and Creative: Teddy Bergman Director; Wilson Chen Scenic Design; Denitsa Bliznakova Costume Design; Elizabeth Harper Lighting Design; John Nobori Sound Design; David Bengali Projection Design; Ryan Bernard Tymensky CSA Casting; David S. Franklin Production Stage Manager; Brad Enlow Technical Director / Production Supervisor; Davidson & Choy Publicity Press Representative; Lisa Toudic Asst. Stage Manager; Jenny Slattery Assoc. Producer.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• September: ♦ One Man, Two Guvnors at A Noise Within. Possible productions: Just Another Day at the Odyssey (simply so I can go up to Dan Lauria afterwards and ask if he’ll ever bring back Meeting of Minds, which stopped when he went off to do Lombardi many years ago); Real Women Have Curves at Kentwood Players.
• October: ♣ Fly Me to the Moon at The Soraya; ♦ Hairspray at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ ha ha ha ha ha ha at Pasadena Playhouse
• November: ♦ Jaja’s African Hair Braiding at CTG/Taper; ♦ Paranormal Activity at CTG/Ahmanson; ♦ Suffs at BIH/Pantages;
• December: ◊ ACSAC Conference; ♣ Nochebuena: A Christmas Spectacular at The Soraya; ♦ Stereophonic at BIH/Pantages;

A number weeks ago, I was listening to backed up podcasts, and this episode of This American Life came on.  It was titled “You’ve Come to the Right Person“, and the first act was about a dark comedian whose skill seems to be asking the question that would break up marriages. The central premise was along the lines of:

The theory went like this– our life is like a jigsaw puzzle. And as we grow up, we slowly piece the puzzle together, bit by bit. But the thing is, we’ve all lost the box to our individual jigsaws, so none of us know what image we’re trying to make.

So we start with the four sides– our family, friends, job, hobbies. And then we’re all taught that the piece at the very center of the jigsaw, the one we need to complete the puzzle, is our partner. And– this is the important part– people are so desperate to find their missing puzzle piece that, sometimes, they try to cram a piece that obviously doesn’t fit or strip out other parts in order to make room for that center piece because they believe that to be better than being alone.

I thought about this last night while watching A Doll’s House, Part 2 at the Pasadena Playhouse, when the lead character, Nora, goes into this monologue about the worthlessness of marriage, how it is an outdated institution, and how it holds no value to her. She seemingly holds onto this view throughout the entire play, despite what the others around her seem to say.

Perhaps I should go back to the beginning.

A Doll’s House, Part 2, surprise-surprise, is a sequel to the 1879 play, A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen. In A Doll’s House, we have a married couple in Norway in the late 1800s. EBSCO summarizes that story as follows: “A groundbreaking play, centered on the life of Nora Helmer, who navigates the complexities of marriage and identity in a patriarchal society. Set during the Christmas season, the play opens with Nora preparing for the holidays, reflecting the constraints imposed on her by her husband, Torvald Helmer, who views her more as a cherished possession than an equal partner. The narrative unfolds as Nora grapples with a secret from her past—she forged her father’s signature to secure a loan to save Torvald’s life. As tensions rise due to the threat posed by Krogstad, the moneylender, Nora’s situation becomes increasingly precarious, leading her to confront the inequalities in her marriage. After a series of dramatic events, including a fancy dress ball and the revelation of her forgery, Nora challenges Torvald’s self-centered views and ultimately declares her independence. This culminates in a powerful decision for Nora to leave her husband and children in search of her own identity, symbolized by the iconic slamming of the door. Ibsen’s play is often seen as a critical examination of gender roles and the quest for self-actualization, making it a significant work in the realm of modern drama.”

A Doll’s House, Part 2 picks up 15 years later from the closing door slam. Nora has returned to Torvald’s house as a successful writer, whose breakout book was a thinly-veiled version of what happened in A Doll’s House (similar to the way that the original play was a veiled version of what happened to one of Ibsen’s friends). However, Nora has a conundrum hanging over her head: a judge did not like what she wrote, investigated, and discovered that Torvald never filed divorce papers. So Nora has returned to ask Torvald for a divorce.

If this were a sitcom, one would now insert “Hilarity ensuses.”

Although there are humorous moments, the play comes off much more as a lecture by Nora against patriarchy and the institution of marriage. These lectures are what made me think of the This American Life piece: they could easily convert someone who is at the edge in a bad marriage to “slam the door” and leave. But it is also very one side. Although Nora’s daughter, Emmy, does make some points regarding the advantages of marriage, they come across as half-hearted. Perhaps the point the play is trying to make is to ask (and answer) the question: Setting aside the legal and financial benefits granted to married couples in the eyes of the state, what is the benefit of the marriage? Is that benefit equal to both parties?

Certainly, the answer has been changing since the late 1800s when Ibsen wrote his play. Certainly, we are not at the envisioned Utopia that Nora sees in a world without marriage, a world without strong binding ties between people. But I’m not sure that Nora’s utopia is all that much of a utopia. Admittedly, I’m not the best to speak: I’m guessing I’m somewhere on the spectrum because I have no real idea of what the strong romantic love and attraction that writers write about is. But just as on Survivor there’s value to a mutual aid and support pact, there’s value to an arrangement between a small number to be there for each other in good and in bad times. That’s really what marriage is: A public commitment to aid and support each other. That’s not a bad thing, and I think that’s what Nora misses for all of her arguments. She says it herself at the end: she discovered that she’s happiest when she’s by herself. But that doesn’t mean the answer that is right for her is right for all, and I think that’s the failure of her pontification.

This play also suffers from a common malady amongst sequels — especially stage sequels (which are rarely successful): it attempts to repeat the structure and pattern of the original. In this case, we again have legal complexities and lying on both sides that is coming back to bite characters: Nora’s earning money and signing contracts without her husband’s approval; Torvald’s letting the world believe Nora was dead when she wasn’t. This really isn’t a “Part 2”, it is just a “2: Die Harder and Stronger”. Part 2s, and true multipart stories, are continuations of the original story without repeating the structure. Sequels are essentially repeats attempting to duplicate the fire of the original. The writers of Part 2 should have had the courage to really continue the story, as opposed to cloning the story. What happened to Torvald and Nora in their separate lives, without a forced attempt to bring them back together. Have them bump together in a street somewhere, as opposed to a contrived legal situation.

I will say that the performances were strong: Elizabeth Reaser made a strong Nora, although she seemed to be affecting an accent that was incongruous with the other performers. Kahyum Kim mad a spirited Emmy. Jashon Butler Harner’s seemed a bit too young for the part of Torvald (that could be said to an extent for Reaser as well, although it is likelier that Torvald married young in those years).  One expects Torvald, as the father of children in his twenties and a seemingly senior official at the bank, to be somewhere in his 50s. The performance was good, but he needed more gravitas.

More problematic was the production and staging. The audience was on stage, as if in a jury box. Why? It added nothing to the story, and there was no trial going on. Nora was wearing a seemingly period dress … and white tennis shoes. There was vernacular and cursing — certainly not language one would hear in the early 1900s, when this piece would take place. The set was overly simplified: A house frame, some chairs, a table. None of this made sense, and none of this particular enhanced or supported the story, other than to provide some moments of levity due to the incongruity of them all.

This bring us to the question: Should you see this? In some ways, it is like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: It makes much more sense if you have seen the first part. I think for those that have seen A Doll’s House somewhat recently, it is worth seeing. For others? It’s certainly interesting and well-acted. I don’t agree with its conclusions, and the pontificating may make some uncomfortable. It is certainly thought provoking, and perhaps that’s just the job of theatre.

A Doll’s House, Part 2  continues at The Pasadena Playhouse through June 8, 2025. Tickets are available through the production’s webpage. I’ll note that the playhouse has done something innovative, and had a performance where there is childcare and a children’s theatre program while the adults attend the matinee. We need more of this innovation.

As an aside… In May 2025, the Pasadena Playhouse turned 100, and announced that for the first time since the mid-1970s, the Playhouse actually owned the historic campus. No more renting space. As the playhouse envisions what this can mean…

Hopefully it will mean more productions in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre, which would be an ideal space to use to support multiple small local companies producing intimate black box productions.
Hopefully it will mean more ADA compliance, and perhaps some way to add elevator accessibility to the Carrie Hamilton.
Hopefully it will mean better use of the courtyard restaurant. If it is to be successful, it needs to be more than a venue for nights the theatre is open. It needs to be there to provide lunch to neighborhood workers (including me, who for what’s left of June works in our Pasadena office on Fridays at Los Robles and Cordova), as well as decent dinners on nights the theatre is dark … and that means something affordable.
Hopefully it will mean potential guest productions on the mainstage for those periods where  Playhouse productions are in development

Owning the campus can provide the potential to use it to its full capacity to ensure not only the survival of the Playhouse, but the growth of theatre in that region of the San Gabriel Valley.

Credits

A Doll’s House, Part 2. Written by Lucas Hnath. Directed by Jennifer Change. Based upon A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen.

Cast: Elizabeth Reaser Nora; Jason Butler Harner Torvald; Kimberly Scott Anne Marie; Kahyun Kim Emmy. Understudies: Adam J. Smith Torvald U/S.

Production and Creative: Wilson Chin Scenic Design; Anthony Tran Costume Design; Elizabeth Harper Lighting Design; John Nobori Sound Design; Heidi Scheller Vocal Coach; Ryan Bernard Tymensky CSA and RBT Casting Casting; Alyssa Escalante Stage Manager; Brian Semel Asst Stage Manager

Support Your Local Theatres

One last note: Under the 47 administration, arts are in peril. We’re seeing cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Many theatres are seeing NEA grants pulled, putting at risk productions already budgeted and started, and also putting at risk future seasons and potentially the existence of companies. Pleading emails have gone out to supporters, for without government support is it up to us, the audience, to support the theatres. And before you say government shouldn’t be involved, remember that Queen Elizabeth was a patron of William Shakespeare, and enabled his art to be produced. The Theatre Communications Group had a nice article on this titled “Unkindest Cuts: How Theatres Are Managing the Loss of NEA Funds“, in which they note:

But the arts are a public good. They inform conversations, they teach empathy, they both tell us where we are in the world and yet somehow cause us to step away from where we are and travel somewhere else in our minds. They also contribute economically to their communities.

An easy thing you can do to show you care about the arts is contact your congressional representative, your senator, and the president. Complain to them about the terminations and about Trump’s plan to eliminate the NEA entirely. If you are pressed for time, click here for a form letter that will go to your representatives urging them to support NEA and NEH funding for next year. You can even add in a line about the grant cancellations.

You can also donate to the companies or programs in this story by clicking on the theatre names. Donate to other organizations you are attached to. Thankfully, some communities have been responding in exactly this way to the immediate cries of theatre companies.

[…]

Clearly, the fundraising needs of the American theatre go beyond just making up for the NEA grants terminated. We’re not going to save the world by making up for one $10,000 grant, but that will help.

If you can’t donate yourself, encourage others to do so. Post about a theatre company on social media. Encourage businesses to back theatre. Local businesses have recently been turning away from the arts, but if they know how important the arts are to their community, they might change course. It’s good business. I plan to go to Columbus in the fall, and I’m totally going to see if The Kitchen has a public event during that time.

There is talk about changing the funding and production infrastructure, sure, and those talks should continue, but right now we can raise money to assist struggling companies. There is, of course, the concern that raising money privately proves that the NEA isn’t necessary. But that fear can’t be as great as the need to help these companies.

[…]

Every little thing is a step in the right direction. Some terminated Institute for Museum and Library Services were already reinstated. That is because of some type of pressure.

Theatre will always happen, with or without federal money. But we’ve already seen tremendous downsizing in recent years, as a substantial number of theatres have shuttered since the pandemic. In just the last week, two theatres in major cities have announced “do or die” campaigns, and everywhere companies are doing fewer shows—and that hurts the creative landscape. Each blow stings. Just because one show or program can continue without a specific NEA grant doesn’t mean that funding isn’t necessary. We all need to work together to make sure theatre remains plentiful and accessible. Funding is needed.

Consider this message my part. Donate to your local theatres. Buy tickets. Attend shows. Spread the word about the fact you attend live theatre on all of your social media. Demonstrate that attending live performance is not a Democratic or a Republican thing. It is something that we as human beings need to nourish our souls, and that theatre artists must be free to express themselves, even if it puts itching powders in the clothing of the leadership. Theatre has long served as a commentary on society, whether it be Showboat in the 1920s, South Pacific in the 1960s, Chicago in the 1970s, Hairspray in the 2000s, or Hamilton in the 2010s.  Mr. President, theatre is much more than Cats.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• June: ♦ Parade at CTG/Ahmanson; and possibly some Hollywood Fringe Festival shows. I’ve looked through the Fringe schedule. Over 420 shows throughout June. Some of interest. I might pick a weekend and see what I can see.
• July: ♦ Hamlet at CTG/Taper; ♦ A Beautiful Noise at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Puppet Up at CTG/Kirk Douglas; ♦ Frozen at 5-Star Theatricals
• August: ♦ Some Like It Hot at BIH/Pantages; ♦ & Juliet at CTG/Ahmanson
• September: ♦ Shucked at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish at The Soraya

Just under two months after disastrous Eaton Fire that devastated the  Pasadena-adjacent community of Altadena, leading to the Pasadena Playhouse’s cancellation of the Jinx Monsoon concert version of Anything Goes as the venue (Pasadena Civic Auditorium) was in use as an evacuation center, we were back to the Pasadena Playhouse for theatre in the almost 100 year old structure that continues to survive and support its community with art. This time the production was Topdog / Underdog, a play by Suzan-Lori Parks that explores the relationship of two brothers who are hanging in there by their fingertips, abandoned by their support systems and doing their best to make it along.

The play revolves around two brothers—Booth and Lincoln—who live in a one room basement apartment with no running water or toilet facilities. Booth is unemployed, and wants to make a living hustling 3-card monte. Lincoln used to be a 3-card monte hustler, but after one of his hustling team was killed, he left the cards behind. He is now making his living wearing whiteface at an arcade, dressed as Abraham Lincoln, allowing players to shoot him. Booth has an unseen girlfriend, Grace, who he thinks is into him but never shows; Lincoln has an ex-wife who cheated on him with Booth.

In other words, these two have no luck.

The play itself is about their life: About Booth trying to become the 3-card monte hustler and getting the girl; about Lincoln losing his job, and losing his way. As this is explored, we learned about the family that brought them there: parents that cheated on each other and abandoned them. A life just barely skating by and on the edge. A life that is a mixture of optimism that they will find a better life, and the crushing reality of where they are.

But what is missing is the point.

In going from the beginning of a play to the end of a play, what makes the story is movement. I don’t mean movement in the choreography sense, but movement in the character sense. By the end of the play, we want the leads to be in a different place. They should have learned something. They should have gained something. They shouldn’t be where they were when the play started, at least in some sense (i.e., they can be in the same locale, but they should be smarter, better, perhaps able to do more). Something.

Here I’m not sure. Looking at Booth at the beginning of the play and Booth at the end of the play: What change is there? He’s still a poor 3-card monte hustler, with little hope in his life. In fact, at the end of the play, he arguably has less than he had in the beginning.

Perhaps it is the audience that had a learning arc? Perhaps watching the lives of Booth and Lincoln taught the audience something. Other than learning a bit about 3-card monte, I’m not sure what. The story was interesting, but I didn’t walk out with some deep new knowledge. What was the point of this story? Learning that life is gamble, a game? Learning that life is rigged?

Did the story say something about “topdogs” and “underdogs” at large? Lincoln was hardly a topdog: he was in a slightly better position, but it didn’t last. So I’m not sure the point of the story.

In summary: This was an interesting play and enjoyable to watch, but I left wondering about the point of it all.

———

Topdog/Underdog. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks. Directed by Gregg T. Daniel.

Cast: Brandon Gill Booth; Brandon Michael Hall Lincoln.

Production and Creatives: Tesshi Nakagawa Scenic Designer; Angela Balogh Calin Costume Designer; Jared A. Sayeg Lighting Designer; Jeff Gardner Sound Designer; Tru Original Compositions; Maritri Garrett Guitar Composition and Musical Performance Coach; Joyce Guy Movement Consultant; Sasha Nicolle Smith Intimacy and Fight Coordination; Sheila Dorn Hair & Makeup Consultation; Whit “Pop” Haydn Card Consultant; Ryan Bernard Tymensky CSA RBT Casting; Alyssa Escalante Stage Manager; Brian Semel Asst. Stage Manager.

♦ ♦ ♦

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• March: ♣ Nefesh Mountain at McCabes; ♦ Fake It Until You Make It at CTG/Taper; ✡ MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton); ✡ MOTAS Poker Tournament at TAS; ♦ Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 at UCLA TFT; ♦ 44 at CTG/Kirk Douglas; ♣ Musique/Ray Charles at CTG/Taper; ♦ Cabaret at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Drat the Cat at Group Rep; ✡ MoTAS/MoTBH Mens Seder at TAS
• April:  ◊ Ren Faire (Southern); ✡ First Night of Passover; ⌬ California Science and Engineering Fair; ♦ All The Devils Are Here at the Broad;
• May: ♦ Life of Pi at CTG/Ahmanson; ⊕ ♦ Spitfire Grill at Actors Co-Op; ♦ A Dolls House, Part 2 at Pasadena Playhouse.
• June: ⊕ ♦ Flower Drum Song at East West Players; ♦ Parade at CTG/Ahmanson; and possibly some Hollywood Fringe Festival shows.

Sometimes, I’m not sure what other reviewers are smoking. Last night, while attending La Cage Aux Folles at the Pasadena Playhouse, I attempted to figure out when I last saw the show on stage. I searched for a writeup of the show on my site, and came up empty (and I started writing up shows on Livejournal around 2004). I did find this other reviewer’s writeup of the PP version of the show, and he thought it was an ill-conceived take on the show — and this is a reviewer that seems to love everything. I did discover that the revival of La Cage toured in 2012 (and I seemingly skipped out on attending that), and the original was in LA through the LA Civic Light Opera in 1984. This could actually mean that the last time I saw this show on stage was way back in 1984. Forty years. Wow!

Reading through this other review, the reviewer’s opinion is that this production was essentially overdone, overacted, and ill-conceived. This reviewer didn’t like the interpretation, which is completely their prerogative. I disagree, and hopefully in this writeup I can explain why.

Hopefully, you’re someone familiar with La Cage Aux Folles. Perhaps you read the original story. Perhaps you saw the original film. Perhaps you saw the American remake (“The Birdcage”). Perhaps you’ve even seen the musical, which is based on the original story, not the movie. The basic plot is as follows — and it is essentially a sitcom. You know that because you can end it with “Hijinks ensue”

Two gay men operate a nightclub in the south of France: one is the star drag performer (Albin/Zaza), and the other serves as the non-drag emcee (Georges). Albin is a bit of a Diva, and a bit of a force of nature; Georges is the more sedate of the two. Their son comes home and tells them he’s found the girl he wants to marry. Her family is coming to dinner. However, her father is a right-wing politician who wants to get rid of all gay nightclubs, so they need to degay the place. Oh, and Albin, who service as the son’s mother, needs to disappear for the night, and they will invite the son’s real mother whom Georges had a one-night-stand with 24 years ago. Insert the first hijinks ensue. The ultimate conclusion is to masculine-ize Albin into “Uncle Al”. But when the mother skips out on attending, Albin becomes … yup. Add to that the press discovering that the politician is at a gay club, and, well. Hijinks ensue.

The show itself is surprisingly timeless. It was written in the 1980s, and came out during the AIDS epidemic. There was lots of anti-gay sentiment. Pivot to today: And there is still a lot of anti-gay, and especially anti-drag, sentiment. There are right wing politicians that want these folks to go away. The response from the gay community: PRIDE. The anthem at end of Act I says it all: “I Am What I Am”. We must be proud of who we are, and be out about who we are, not matter who we are.

I’ll also note that this is one of those rare shows that does not play the “man dressing as a woman” trope for humor. It is simply who these people are, and the costumes are not the humor in the show. Contrast that the recent shows that never learned the lesson: Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire, Some Like It Hot, and others.

The original production of this did a traditional Broadway take on the show. The nightclub was a classy joint, and the Cagelles were dressed as French showgirls, making it hard to tell, as they say, who was who and what was what. The actors didn’t overplay their characters, although one can’t say that they played them straight. [I’d say “rimshot”, but even that has a different meaning]. But it was a big singing and dancing extravaganza with Jerry Herman tunes. The 2012 Revivial, with Doug Hodges and Kelsey Grammer, I’ve only heard. But the album makes it clear that Hodges hammed it up as Albin, and Grammer overplayed it. That’s likely why I skipped that version.

In this version, the director, Sam Pinkleton, takes a very different take on the show. Instead of being in a high-class nightclub, this show is more of a very seedy, low-rent, drag review. Think the quality of the club you see in Cabaret. It has seen better days, and the quality of the performers isnt’ the best.  In many ways, that works better (and would be even stronger if the leads were visibly older). But some reviewers can’t get past their conception of the club.

Another change made by the director — and one that bothered me a bit more — was changing the characterization of the son, Jean-Michel. In this production, he is differently-abled (and the actor that portrays him really has C.P.). His fiancée is also not the typical beauty that you find playing the character — she is larger and my guess from the portrayal is intended to be slightly autistic.  This is a truly different take, but it also makes some of the songs actually have more meaning (especially “Anne on My Arms”). Think about the following lyrics when the guy is disabled and can’t walk too well unaided: “Who else can make me feel like I’m handsome and tall? / Who else can make me feel I’m on top of it all? / I found a combination that works like a charm: / I’m simply a man who walks on the stars / Whenever it’s Anne on my arm! / Life is a celebration with you on my arm / Walking’s a new sensation with you on my arm / Each time I face a morning that’s boring and bland / With you it looks good, with you it looks great / With you it looks grand!”. This directorial choice: It surprisingly works.

The production also retains the over-the-top nature of Albin. Grating at first, it grows on you and now I can see its charm that must have been there in the 2012 revival. It certainly adds to the hilarity of the show. And believe me: this show is laugh-out-loud funny. I tend not to laugh at shows, and I was laughing at this one.

Some of the changes made I didn’t like, and these are likely due to the limitations to the Playhouse and budget: The Cafe scenes seemed to be more randomly at the beach, which made no sense at all. There was far too much glitter flying everywhere, which bothers me as I’ve become more aware of plastic pollution. We don’t need glitter cannons in every show, folks.

A lot of credit in this show goes to the performers, and especially the leads. Cheyenne Jackson is charming, with a wonderful singing voice and incredible comic timing (which you likely saw on Call Me Kat). He’s also an incredibly good looking hunk, and I say this as a straight guy. He is just a delight delight to watch, and appears to be having the time of his life with this show. When actors are having fun, it comes through in their performance. Kevin Cahoon was not a super feminine Zaza, but was a great over-the-top comic Albin. Ryan J. Haddad, as I’ve noted, gave a very different interpretation of Jean-Michel, and Shannon Purser was (in my eyes) an extremely beautiful Anne. Additional comic chops go to Michael McDonald and Nicole Parker as Anne’s parents. You only see them in a few scenes at the end of Act II, but they are just hilarious.

So, in summary, if you are expecting a traditional take on La Cage, then this show probably isn’t for you. The low rent conception of the nightclub, combined with the changes in portrayal of some of the characters, will likely turn you off. But if you go into this show with an open mind and open heart, you can really believe that perhaps this is what Jerry Herman meant all along: a show that really emphasizes being who we are, and being proud of who we are. Straight or gay. Differently-abled or not. Sedate or over-the-top. We are who we are. We are our own special creations. We should be proud of that.

La Cage Aux Folles continues at the Pasadena Playhouse through December 15. Go see it. Tickets are available through the Playhouse Box Office.

———

La Cage Aux Folles. Book by Harvey Fierstein. Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Based on the play by Jean Poiret. Directed by Sam Pinkleton. Choreography by Ani Taj.

Cast (^æ indicates Actors Equity): Cheyenne Jackson^æ Georges; Kevin Cahoon^æ Albin/Zaza; Ryan J. Haddad^æ Jean-Michel; Shannon Purser^æ Anne; El Beh^æ Francis; Michael McDonald^æ  Edouard Dindon/M. Renaud; Nichole Parker^æ Marie Dindon/Mme. Renaud; Shea Diamond^æ Jacqueline; George Salazar^æ Jacob; Key Bebe Queue^æ Cagelle; Cody Brunelle-Potter^æ Cagelle; Salina EsTitties (Jason De Puy) Cagelle; Rhoyle Ivy King Cagelle; Ellen Soraya Nikbakht^æ Cagelle; Suni Jade Reid^æ Cagelle; Paul Vogt^æ Cagelle

Music Department: Darryl Archibald Music Director / Keyboard; Abdul-Hamid Royal Assoc Music Director / Keyboard; Damon Zick Reed 1 (Flute, Clarinet, Soprano Sax); Joe Di Fiore Reed 2 (Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax); Erick Jovel Trumpet; Devon Taylor Trombone; Jonathan Richards Bass; Dominick Anzalone Drums / Percussion; Eric Heinly Orchestra Contractor.

Production and Creative: David Zinn Scenic Design; David Reynoso Costume Design; Stacey Derosier Lighting Design; Daniel Erdberg Sound Design; Ursula Kwong-Brown Sound Design; Alberto “Albee” Alverado Wig and Hair Design; Ryan Bernard Tymensky, CSA / RBT Casting Casting; Chris Waters Stage Manager; Sam Allen Asst Stage Manager; Lydia Runge Asst Stage Manager.

♦ ♦ ♦

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending). We’re a bit light on theatre while my wife is recuperating from her knee replacement.

• December: ♦ Wicked at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ Once Upon a Mattress at CTG/Ahmanson;
• January: ♦ Anything Goes (Concert) at Pasadena Playhouse (Pasadena Civic);
• February: ♦ Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends at CTG/Taper; ♦ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ⊕♦ Desperate Measures at ICT Long Beach;
• March: ♦ Top Dog/Underdog at Pasadena Playhouse; ⊕♣ Nefesh Mountain at McCabes; Fake It Until You Make It at CTG/Taper; MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Tikvah;  ⊕♦ Drat the Cat at Group Rep; MoTAS/MoTBH Mens Seder at TAS.